Time to get grocers off our turf

Some readers may remember the heady days when supermarkets sold just one in 20 of all the pints consumed in Britain. Now, 30 years on, it's very nearly one in two. And it's set to tilt to at least six pints in every 10 very shortly if the move to the off-trade continues its current breakneck momentum. Coors' rise this week can only accelerate the trend.

Hats off to them, Tesco, Asda and the rest of the discounters have been brilliant at stealing our business. They saw cheap alcohol was the way to draw in the crowds. They turned the screw ruthlessly on brewers and other drinks suppliers to get rock-bottom prices. And then they priced it even lower and promoted it as hard as they could to consumers who just could not believe their luck. Particularly those who only get £5 pocket money a week.

Aggressive tactics like these were bad enough for pubs. What's made resistance well-nigh impossible have been hefty duty rises, which supermarkets "absorb" (ie, push back to suppliers), but that licensees mostly must pass on to customers. That's made the difference between pub and supermarket pricing horribly stark, and, in the tough times, makes pubs increasingly unattractive to drinkers on a budget.

Faced with the loss of trade, it's no wonder that some licensees are driven to sharp discounting themselves. The all-you-can-drink-for-a-tenner offers are breaking out like a bad rash everywhere. No one likes doing it — but for some operators, it may be all they can do to avoid closure.

It shouldn't have to be like this. Pubs and clubs should not be faced with these painful choices just because the off-trade chooses to sell alcohol at prices not seen since the days of Hogarth.

Selling beer at six or seven times less than pubs do can only devalue alcohol. It becomes impossible for the drinks industry to educate young people in a more mature approach to drink when they see it as "adult candy", piled high and dirt cheap. It totally devalues the product, and helps perpetuate the binge-drinking culture.

Government is keenly aware of this, and is steeling itself to force the supermarkets to scrap heavy promotions. It's held back so far because anything that might nudge up the cost of living isn't helpful. But, spurred on by Scotland's bolder politicians and the health lobby, it may well decide now is the time to take a deep breath and impose minimum pricing.

Of course, that may mean the same approach for pubs. But is that such a bad thing? Of course, no businessman likes being told how to run his business. Surely, though, it would make life easier if he couldn't be constantly undercut?

We don't live in a perfect world. And however perfect some pubs are, something drastic needs to be done if they are not soon to be serving three pints in every seven.